COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Fireflies bats fell quiet as they fell 5-1 to the Fredericksburg Nationals Thursday night at Segra Park.
Fredericksburg got the party started first for a third consecutive game. Elian Soto and Rafael Ramirez Jr. combined for back-to-back doubles to start the second to break the scoreless tie. With two outs, Jordan Williams added the FredNats third double of the inning to score Ramirez and give Fredericksburg a 2-0 advantage before the break.
The Nationals added a run in the top of the sixth inning as Luke Dickerson launched his eighth homer of the season 110 MPH off the bat to left field to make it 3-0. In the eighth inning, Fredericksburg got another two runs of insurance. Yeri Perez allowed back-to-back singles to Coy James and Luke Dickerson before walking Hunter Hines to set the table for Fredericksburg. Elian Soto singled to right to score James and Dickerson to increase Fredericksburg’s advantage to 5-1 prior to the end of the frame.
Columbia got on the board in the sixth inning. JC Vanek dribbled a one out single before stealing his ninth and 10th bases of the season. Later, Hyungchan Um laid a squeeze bunt down the first base line to score Vanek to get Columbia within a pair.
Jose Gutierrez (L, 5-3) finished the night with 5.1 innings as he struck out seven Nationals. The righty allowed three earned runs on five hits and walk before getting the ball to the bullpen.
On the other side, Travis Sthele kept his hot start going in the Carolina League. The righty spun 4.2 scoreless innings. He has worked 20.2 consecutive scoreless innings to start his rehab stint in the Carolina League. Next, Austin Amaral (W, 2-0) spun three one-run innings to get the ball to Ike Buxton to close out the game.
The Fireflies continue their series with the Fredericksburg Nationals tomorrow night at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Michael Lombardi (2-3, 2.44 ERA) takes the ball for Columbia and Fredericksburg answers with RHP Leuris Portorreal (1-3, ,5.14 ERA).
Tomorrow night is Fourth of July Eve at Segra Park! The Fireflies are pulling at all the strings for an awesome Independence Day Weekend thanks to SC 250. Tomorrow is the first of three-consecutive nights with a fireworks show and fans can enjoy $2.50 hot dogs during the game, as well as $5 Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob Ultras. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.